Indecisive The Battle of Redinha was a rearguard action which took place on March 12, 1811, during Masséna's retreat from Portugal, by a French division under Marshal Ney against a considerably larger Anglo-Portuguese force under Wellington.

In a typical rearguard action, Ney delayed the Allied advance for a day and bought valuable time for the withdrawal of the main body of the French army.

By February 1810 Masséna, stalled for six months at the Lines of Torres Vedras, his men famished and demoralized, accepted the advice of his despondent lieutenants and began preparations to extricate the French army from Portugal.

The French pursued a retrograde movement along the Mondego valley—which Masséna had long contemplated, were it not for Napoleon's express orders forbidding him to budge from the Tagus—hoping for better foraging country as they exhausted their last reserves of biscuit.

The French battalions then put Pombal to the torch, stalling the Allied pursuit and buying Masséna the crucial hours needed to occupy Coimbra—though, as it turned out, the opportunity was missed.

[9] Ney deployed Mermet's rearguard division in line on a plateau some 3 km south of Redinha, bolstering this contingent with the 3rd Hussars, a few dragoon squadrons, as well as 8 guns for support.

To avoid it becoming overwhelmed, Ney promptly withdrew Mermet's line in echelon to its second pre-established position across the Ancos river in Redinha, where Marchand’s division was waiting in support.

The allied vanguard pursued for a while when Ney abruptly turned two battalions to pour a heavy fire on the Anglo-Portuguese, before finally retiring in good order to the village of Condeixa.

This time Picton's Division maneuvered to attempt cutting off Ney's contingent from the main body of the army, thus forcing him to quickly retire without much resistance.

[13] An unlikely dissenter was the Baron de Marbot who, as an eyewitness, deemed the battle of no consequence and deplored the false pride of two generals which cost so many brave men their lives with no result.

Crucially, in the time bought by Ney, Masséna had not attempted a coup de main against Coimbra, even though Trant's rather weak garrison had orders to retire immediately if strongly pressed.

With the British close to that village, on the morning of 13 March Masséna began the long costly retreat back into Spain which marked the complete failure of his great invasion of Portugal.